Naloxegol for opioid-induced constipation

29th May 2015

Draft NICE guidance recommends naloxegol for treating opioid-induced constipation in adults whose constipation has not adequately responded to laxatives (at least moderate severity in ≥1 of 4 stool symptom domains) while taking ≥1 laxative class for ≥4 days during previous 2 weeks. The guidance, under final consultation for factual errors/appeals, is anticipated to be published July 2015.

Updated advice on high-dose ibuprofen

29th May 2015

A European-wide review of ibuprofen has confirmed that there is a small risk of cardiovascular events in patients taking ibuprofen ≥ 2,400mg/24h. The risk is similar to some other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including COX-2 inhibitors and diclofenac. No risk has been seen with ibuprofen at doses ≤1,200mg/24h.

MHRA: Tramadol 50mg capsules batch recall

6th May 2015

Never Event list 2015/2016

6th May 2015

A revised Never Events policy and framework has been published for 2015/2016, this includes changes to the definition of a ‘Never Event’ and adjustments to the types of incident that are included on the list, reducing it from 25 to 14 incident types. Those incidents most relevant to palliative care that have been removed from the list because they do not meet the revised definition of a Never Event include:

opioid overdose of an opioid/opiate-naïve patient

wrong gas administered

failure to monitor and respond to oxygen saturation

air embolism

misidentification of patients

wrongly manufactured high-risk injectable medication.

However, if they occur, they should still be managed using the Serious Incident Framework. In addition, the three previous wrong route Never Events have been merged, and the criteria for classification of some of the remaining Never Events have changed.